Routine Jürgen Melzer makes his comeback in Marbella during Holy Week with a 43,000 Euro Sand-Challenger. The 36-year-old’s first-round game against number three seeded Italian Marco Cecchinato is expected to take place on Tuesday.
Melzer is a wildcard player at the tournament in Spain. The tournament director of this event is Melzer’s former manager Ronnie Leitgeb. In round two, Melzer could face Sebastian Ofner from Styria.
Both are candidates for a place in Austria’s Davis Cup Team on 6/7. April in Russia. Melzer, who slipped to world rank 583, played his last tournament match so far in early July in the first qualifying round of Wimbledon.
After an elbow operation at the beginning of October, the Lower Austrian has been training under normal conditions since the end of February.
Cecchinato is world ranking-97. and won a Sand Challenger in Chile in the first half of March. At ATP Tour level, the 25-year-old lost to Gerald Melzer in Quito in the first round at the beginning of February and to Ofner in Sao Paolo at the end of February in two sets.
Gerald Melzer will be on the same level as Brother Jürgen from Monday. At the sand-court tournament in San Luis Potosi (Mexico), endowed with 50,000 US dollars, the 27-year-old is seeded in second place and will start with Jan Choinski from Germany.